Chicago's Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot is out with a new excuse for why crime continues to rise in her city, and, no surprise here, it's still not her or other Democrat authorities' soft-on-crime policies. This time, Lightfoot is lamenting a lack of love for the reason so many in the Windy City turn to a life of crime.
In Chicago, like many other cities, carjackings are among the violent crimes on the rise. The Chicago Police Department says that in their city, 57 percent of carjackings are committed by juveniles, and Lori Lightfoot's latest excuse for the rising crime is "unloved" young people.
Ignoring Chicago's anti-gun laws that leave law abiding Chicagoans defenseless, anti-police rhetoric that demonizes and undermines the efforts of law enforcement to uphold the rule of law, and lenient policies that often treat criminals as victims, Lightfoot is now literally putting feelings over facts.
"There are too many young people in this room that feel unloved, and we need to change that if we are going to change the trajectory of their lives," Lightfoot said during an event with young residents of her city over the weekend. She added that Chicago cannot "arrest ourselves" out of crime, as FOX 32 reported.
“There are too many young people in this room that feel unloved, and we need to change that if we are going to change the trajectory of their lives,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. https://t.co/p667WoTEkj
— FOX 32 News (@fox32news) April 3, 2022
Here's the thing: Yes, young people feeling like they have no option other than a life of crime is a problem. But the root causes of that problem are more of the left's policies that seek to make people dependent on government through on an ideology that seeks to convince Americans — young ones especially — that the "system" is rigged against them and they can't achieve a full or rewarding life without the government's help.
But it's not "love" to teach the rising generation that they can't build the life they want, one better than they may have been raised in. It's not "love" to tell them they're victims of and will continue to be victims no matter what they do. It's not "love" to undermine the idea of personal responsibility. And when Democrats add to their disastrous family and fiscal policy a heaping portion of lenient prosecution policies that avoid consequences for criminals in the name of "reform," you get the messes we see on the streets of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere.
True "love" would be showing Chicago's young people that their actions have consequences — both good and bad — and they can achieve greatness if they take responsibility for their own future. Pushing them to dream big, become leaders in their communities, and to start businesses would go far toward giving young people hope that would drive their development as adults. Instead of that, though, Lightfoot keeps pursuing more social justice-inspired policies that see young people become carjackers rather than job creators or the next generation of city leaders.
Instead of lamenting the fact that Chicago youth are unloved, maybe it's time for Lightfoot to call for some tough love for those who commit violent crime.